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Scientists start research into autonomous boats in Amsterdam

Sep

20

2016

AMS Institute has announced a research program in collaboration with the American MIT, which revolves around the use of autonomous boats in urban areas. The first prototypes should be seen at Amsterdam waters next year.

The Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions has announced in a press release that the project is named “Roboat ‘ received . Participants in the five-year study are employees of MIT, TU Delft and Wageningen University and Research. The budget is 25 million euros, of which 20 million was contributed by MIT. The study has several purposes, including the testing of transport for both goods and people by a fleet of autonomous boats. In this way, the waterways of the city should be better exploited.

In addition, the boats can be used as temporary floating infrastructure, such as bridges and podiums, explains MIT professor Carlo Ratti out. These should be fully up and taken down within hours. Another application is environmental sensing, wherein underwater robots can be used for the early detection of diseases. This is done by building on the “Underworlds’ project of MIT, where sewers are tested for germs.

Also be able to clean up the waste Roboats. These include the twelve bikes arrive annually in the canals of Amsterdam, says the research director of the Institute AMS, Arjan van Carpentry. Finally, the project should also lead to new opportunities for start-ups that focus on similar techniques and should serve as a reference for other urban areas.